Wake Nation Houston Opens May 7th

Wake Nation Houston, Houston’s only full-scale cable wakeboarding park (and the area’s newest family watersports’ attraction) opens Saturday, May 7, for a Sneak-Peek Weekend. Wake Nation Houston is near Pearland, south of the Sam Houston Parkway on the 288 Freeway.

Following the Sneak-Peek weekend, Wake Nation Houston will operate 5 days a week (closed Mondays and Tuesdays) until Grand Opening Weekend June 4-5. However, the park also will be open Monday and Tuesday (May 30 & 31) for the Memorial Day holiday.

Operating hours during May are noon-8 p.m. Operating hours June through September are 10 a.m. until 8 p.m. daily except on Mondays when hours are noon-8 p.m.

A super Grand Opening Weekend is being planned for June 4-5 and will include on June 5 a Liquid Force “Free For All” event, with a day of free riding, music, free food, free giveaways, professional wakeboarding exhibitions and non-stop activities.

Wake Nation Houston features five 35’ high steel towers carrying a unique overhead cable system enabling riders to wakeboard, wakeskate, water ski and kneeboard without a boat around a 12-acre lake. Six riders can be on the water at the same time, being pulled around the lake at speeds of 18-20 miles per hour.

For experienced riders, the lake will be outfitted with custom-built jumps, grind rails and sliders. In addition to the main lake, there is also a separate area called the Practice Pond featuring an “easy start” ride system. This area is designed to give kids and wakeboarding beginners a place to learn to ride a wakeboard at a slower speed than on the main lake. All riders must be at least 5 years of age and are required to wear a Coast Guard Approved (CGA) life vest and a helmet, all of which can be rented at Wake Nation.

A unique feature of Wake Nation Houston is that the cable will move around the lake in a clockwise direction — currently the only clockwise cable system in Texas and only the second of its kind in the USA. Clockwise cables are ideal for left-foot-forward riders, which is how the majority of today’s wakeboarders ride.

Wakeboarding is the country’s fastest growing watersport, says Wake Nation Houston CEO and co-owner Peter Kennedy. “The cable system approach to wakeboarding and water skiing is particularly attractive to those without access to a motor boat.” Currently, there are only 10 full-scale cable wakeboarding parks in the U.S.A.

The Wake Nation Houston complex has a full pro shop, concessions’ area, huge outdoor observation deck offering a panoramic view of the entire lake area and numerous other services and amenities. If visitors don’t have their own gear, Wake Nation Houston also offers a full rental shop carrying everything a wakeboarder needs to hit the water.

Wake Nation Houston is a “pay-as-you-play” facility. Parking and admission to the cable wakeboarding complex is FREE, including access to the outdoor observation deck. Riders will pay only for their “water time,” and will be charged $25 for two hours, $30 for four hours and $35 for an all-day pass. Wake Nation will offer special group rates and several season pass options.

Wake Nation Houston is the second cable wakeboard complex operating under the Wake Nation brand. Wake Nation’s first cable wakeboard complex, called Wake Nation Cincinnati, opened in May, 2009 to rave reviews from the local community as well as professional wakeboarders worldwide. The popular venue has already hosted two nationally sanctioned tournaments, won several “Best Of” awards and last year set an officially sanctioned Guinness World Record for longest distance traveled on a wakeboard in a 24-hour period.